Layers of History
Image idea: a cross-section drawing of the shrine’s layers.
Other samples matched what history books already said. Mortar from the tomb’s entrance dated to the 11th century, when the shrine was rebuilt after al-Hakim destroyed it in 1009.
More mortar matched the Franciscan repairs of the 1500s. Each layer fitted a known chapter in the tomb’s long story.
This gave experts more confidence in the dating method. When several results line up with known history, it is easier to trust the oldest result too.